New haul of exotic animals seized in Philippines

Feb 25, 2014

Undated Department of Environment and Natural Resources handout photo released on February 16, 2014 shows an echidna, one of the 100 exotic animals seized by wildlife officers that had been smuggled into the Philippines

Wildlife authorities said Tuesday they had seized nearly 100 exotic animals that had been smuggled into the southern Philippines in the second such haul in just two weeks.

Among the creatures confiscated were 66 wild birds including a rare Pesquet's parrot as well as assorted reptiles and mammals such as a long-beaked echidna, a Malayan box turtle and 10 sugar gliders—squirrel-like animals that can glide from tree to tree.

A total of 93 animals from Indonesia and Australia were seized by maritime police in the waters off the southern island of Mindanao on Saturday and included vulnerable and critically endangered species, said Ali Hajina, the regional chief of the government wildlife board.

Five Filipinos who were transporting the animals were arrested and will be charged with illegal possession and transport of these species, he told AFP.

The seizure came just a week after wildlife officers, also in the southern Philippines, found almost 100 similar animals from Australia and Indonesia, being transported by van to Manila.

"They (the two shipments) could be connected. They may have one source because the animals were almost the same types. They may have a large stock so they may have divided it into two," Hajina told AFP.

Undated Department of Environment and Natural Resources handout photo released on February 16, 2014 shows a sick parrot, one of 90 parrots seized by wildlife officers that had been smuggled into the Philippines

He said the animals were so rare even the wildlife officials could not identify them and had to ask Filipino hobbyists for help.

The head of the government's wildlife division Josefina de Leon said the shipments were suspected to have originated from the same international syndicate which sells the animals to local collectors.

She said the two large seizures in two weeks were a sign of improved training of wildlife authorities and better cooperation from the public.

"Enforcement is better because there are concerned citizens who are now assisting us in catching the perpetrators," she said.

Related Stories

Five dead crocodiles, 14 critically endangered turtles and a cache of other rare species have been found in the home of a suspected wildlife trader in one of the Philippines' biggest slums, the government ...

Wildlife authorities said Saturday they are investigating the death of a rare Philippine eagle, one of the world's largest and most endangered raptors, shortly after it was captured by a local resident.

Recommended for you

A team of researchers led by the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Science recently concluded a study to better understand the factors influencing the spread of conservation ...

Wildlife is critical to the economies of nations. New Zealand's wildlife – whales, dolphins, red deer, thar, albatross, kiwi, tuatara, fish and kauri – attract tourists. And the tourists who come to see ...

Cutting-edge technology and techniques have become essential tools in the effort to save rhinos. Micro chips, translocation and consumer campaigns are helping shift the balance against record-setting poaching ...

Plants trade water for carbon – every litre of water that they extract from the soil allows them to take up a few more grams of carbon from the atmosphere to use in growth. A new global study, led by Australian ...